Partners

I was looking through recent photos thinking about what would be suitable for this week’s photo challenge and it was going to be all about insects but then I realised I had some perfect examples of partnership in photos of my daughter, Abi, riding. The partnership between the rider and the horse is essential to get from A to B or to get the horse to jump the jump, or follow the instructions in a Dressage test. Abi doesn’t have her own horse (much to her sadness, but my purse is not large enough!) but she partners with every horse she rides at her fabulous riding school and they work together as one.

Having a bareback cuddle with the lovely Napoleon just before riding him bareback out to the field after a lesson:

Serious concentration during a Dressage test on Herbi – the partnership is really important here or your horse is not going to go in the right direction or use the right gait.

Of course, nothing is ever perfect, and occasionally your horse decides that this is a bit boring and throws in a little buck to liven things up a little!

But calm concentration usually wins the day and he’s back to behaving himself again 🙂

The Dressage shots are from a One Day Event Abi competed in last weekend. Here she is getting ready for the next part of the day by doing a practice jump prior to the Show Jumping.

And finally, the last part of the One Day Event was Cross Country and by this point it was pouring with rain. I sat in my camping chair in the middle of the field with an umbrella over my head and carried on taking pictures of all the riders going past! It sounds horrible but it was actually really fun apart from my rather damp knees (they poked out between the shelter of my umbrella and the cover of my wellies)!

So here’s Abi keeping up a good partnership with Herbi despite the rain. She went on to win the trophy for the Junior One Day Event novice champion 😀

The second to last photos show very well the concentration of both the horse and the rider. But the first one – this one is a gem – they are both relaxed and happy to be in each other company. That first one is my winner – if there was a contest – for the challenge 🙂 Great photographs 🙂